United Way issues call for volunteers
The United Way of Greater Augusta is looking for Citizens interested in volunteering to review funding applications.
Funds from United Way are used to build community capacity in supporting individuals and families with immediate needs and establishing a foundation for long-term change. Through these funds, United Way will invest in projects and programs that address the priority areas of education, income and health.
Citizen Investment Review Team members review funding applications received and participate in agency site visits. Citizen Investment Review Team members make funding recommendations to the United Way Board of Directors on the organizations they review and visit.
For more information, contact the local Unted Way office at 540.885.1229 or 540.943.1215 or visit the UWGA website at www.unitedwayga.org or the Greater Augusta Volunteer Center at www.uwgavoluntercenter.org.
Local cooperatives host Beat the Blahs
Local cooperatives are offering to help you work your way out of those winter doldrums.
The event is called Beat The Blahs. Friendly City Food Co-op, Park View Credit Union and the Little Grill are all cooperatives working together for the community to help beat the winter “blahs” this month. Join the event at the Little Grill on Monday, Feb. 28, 5-7:30 p.m. Activities include free massages, Spring gardening lessons with New Community Project, Food and Mood talks with Dr. Kathleen Kelly, Healing with Homeopathy with Denise Jensen and then enjoy local food and beverage treats from Little Grill, Brown Butter Bakery and Lucas Roasting Co.
Also, there is the opportunity to learn about what membership to Friendly City means and how it helps the community. Representatives from Friendly City will be available to answer questions and sign up members. Currently, they have 1,120 members and hope for a goal of 1,300 by the opening of the store later in the Spring.
Friendly City Food Co-op is a cooperatively owned, democratically-run business that will open a full service natural food grocery store in downtown Harrisonburg. The store will promote the relationship between the food we eat, the health of the earth, and our own physical well being. Healthy, wholesome foods, organic produce, and environmentally sound, fairly traded products will be emphasized. Whenever possible, they plan to buy produce and items from local farmers, orchards, bakers, and members of the local community, thereby supporting local farmers.
For more information, visit www.FriendlyCityFoodCoop.com.
Be a part of Art in the Park
The Staunton Augusta Art Center announces that it is now receiving applications from artists of fine art and fine craft interested in participating in the 45th annual Art in the Park at Gypsy Hill, a two-day festival of quality fine art and fine craft every Memorial Day weekend and scheduled for May 29 and 30, 2011.
The site of the art festival, Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton, Virginia, is an exceptionally beautiful municipal park which provides a tree-lined, intimate setting for artists and artisans as well as area residents and tourists. Visitors linger as they admire the artwork, chat with the artists, listen to live music coming from the bandstand every hour, and enjoy food provided by a variety of vendors. Young aspiring artists participate in a children’s art activity area.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Art in the Park and the 50th anniversary of its producer, the Staunton Augusta Art Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization. Due to limited space and wide interest, all work is freshly juried into the show each year. Applications are available at www.saartcenter.org or at the Staunton Augusta Art Center headquarters at 20 S. New St., Staunton (telephone: 540.885.2028).
The jury fee is $15. Booth fees for accepted artists and artisans are $100 ($90 for Staunton Augusta Art Center members) for the entire weekend. Applications must be postmarked no later than April 1, 2011.
Cultural Commission plans film appreciation seminar
The Waynesboro Cultural Commission is offering a film appreciation seminar by Matthew Marshall, Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Shenandoah Valley Art Center (126 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro).
Marshall has taught “The Art of Watching Film” for three years at the University of Virginia’s Personal Enrichment Programs and is offering an introductory lecture based on that course.
What separates a great film from the ordinary? In this presentation, you will learn how to read a film and gain the critical viewing skills to move beyond simply looking at a movie. You’ll study the language of film and examine the tools and techniques that filmmakers use to create meaning in their work, including lighting, sound, symbolism, and perspective. You will explore why certain shots are used, why scenes are lit a certain way, why characters and objects are in a particular arrangement.
The lecture is for anyone interested in getting more out of their film watching experience as well as for filmmakers and writers who would like to advance their craft into more formal directions.
There is no charge for the seminar, but class size is limited, so register by calling the Wayne Theatre Alliance at 540.943.9999.
Ruby wins disputed Wildlife Center vote
And the winner is … well, more on that in a minute.
The big news with the online poll to name the newest environmental ambassador at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro is that the effort was apparently hacked.
The votes – the legitimate ones, at least – eventually came down in favor of Ruby the Red-Tail. Ruby, a red-tailed hawk hit by a car in Dayton in February 2010, cannot return to the wild due to the severity of her injuries, and will travel with Wildlife Center staff to schools, libraries, and other public events and help share the steps that each of us can take to protect wildlife and the environment.
The Center in January asked local elementary schools to suggest a name, and came up with a list of 174 names that were later winnowed down to a final five. The polls opened online on Feb. 2 to pick the winner, but were closed on Feb. 19 after Center staff noticed irregularities, specifically robo-voting that cast more than 5,000 votes for the name Phoenix from a single overseas Internet service provider, including 3,021 in a six-hour period between midnight and 6 a.m. the morning of Feb. 19.
The purpose of the Center’s online contest was to seek the public’s views on the suggested names, especially from children, not to test computer hacking skills or the ability to rig an election. It’s unfortunate that someone takes pleasure from hacking into, and attempting to spoil, a contest in which so many schoolchildren and others have enjoyed participating,” Wildlife Center president and co-founder Ed Clark said.
Excluding the robo-votes, Ruby led the field with 35.3 percent of the legitimate votes cast, outpacing runner-up Twizzler, which received 25.6 percent.
Phoenix came in fourth with 15.3 percent once the robo-votes were discarded.
“The Wildlife Center is most grateful for the participation of local students and teachers and the more than 4,000 individuals who voted. And our appreciation is not diminished because a couple of people sought to cheat and spoil the contest,” Clark said.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Weekend Watchdog: Hokies in primetime
Cassell Coliseum and its fans get to shine this weekend.
ESPN’s GameDay crew pays a visit to Cassell Coliseum Saturday, as the Hokies host Duke at 9 p.m.
The festivities begin in the morning with the two-hour preview show, and then get you ready for the game at 8 p.m.
The question remains – are the Hokies ready for primetime? They lost both matchups to Virginia, and fourth place in the ACC doesn’t guarantee anything – even with the field now 68 teams.
But they won at Wake Forest Tuesday, giving needed momemtum to face the top-ranked Blue Devils.
ESPN’s Saturday begins at noon when Missouri heads to Kansas State, followed by St John’s at Villanova. It’s back to the Big 12 at 4 p.m. when Kansas plays Oklahoma, then Mississippi State takes on Tennessee.
ESPN2 has Wichita State at Missouri State at 1 p.m., followed by Memphis-UTEP. It’s off to the Big West at 8 p.m. when UC Santa Barbara battles Long Beach State.
Thursday there’s Big East on the menu as ESPN2 shows Marquette-Connecticut at 7 p.m. and ESPN offers West Virginia at Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. The night begins on ESPN at 7 p.m. with Georgia facing Florida, while ESPN2 heads west as the night goes on – Penn State at Northwestern at 9 p.m. followed by Gonzaga-St. Mary’s.
Friday, Judgment Week begins on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. when Siena meets Fairfield in the MAAC.
Sunday, ESPN shows Purdue-Michigan State at 1 p.m. while ESPN2 goes with Xavier at Dayton.
The ACC network splits its coverage of games Saturday at 2 p.m. NBC29 and northern areas will feature Georgia Tech at N.C. State, while CW29 shows Miami at Florida State.
CBS has a full weekend of college basketball as the NCAA tournament nears. There’s three games Saturday, starting at noon when Syracuse visits Georgetown. BYU heads to San Diego State at 2 p.m., followed by Florida taking on Kentucky.
Sunday at 2 p.m. it’s back to the Big East when Louisville meets Pittsburgh. The Big Ten battle between Indiana and Ohio State caps off the weekend.
Comcast starts Thursday in the CAA with Northeastern taking on George Mason at 7 p.m. Then it’s off to the west coast as UCLA hosts Arizona State at 11 p.m. Saturday, Boston College meets Virginia at noon, followed by Temple at George Washington and William &Mary-Old Dominion.
The Sunday ACC game of the week features Maryland traveling to North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. Comcast heads west at 10:30 p.m. for Washington State-Washington.
MASN offers a pair of games Thursday – Mt. St. Mary’s at Robert Morris at 7 p.m. and a WAC battle between Nevada and Idaho at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, there’s three games from across the nation. At 2 p.m., there’s the Big East matchup between South Florida and DePaul, followed by Texas at Colorado.
The Big South takes the stage at 7 p.m. with VMI meeting Winthrop.
Sunday West Virginia visits Rutgers at noon, followed by St. Peter’s at Rider. It’s back to the Big East at 4 p.m. when Providence heads to Marquette.
As the weather warms and time for the Masters quickly approaches, the PGA tour brings together its 64 best golfers for the World Match Play Championship this weekend.
In most tournaments, the players get four rounds to notch the best score. This week, it’s beat your opponent each day or head off for next week’s venue. Sorry, Tiger Woods, but you won’t be exciting the crowds this Sunday.
Golf Channel has coverage during the week, and NBC picks up the action Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. both days.
Fresh off his upset win at the Daytona 500, Trevor Bayne and the NASCAR gang head to Phoenix this Sunday. Coverage begins at 3 p.m.
The Nationwide drivers hit the track Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
TNT’s Thursday NBA doubleheader starts at 8 p.m. when Miami heads to Chicago. In the nightcap, the Celtics face the Nuggets. ESPN has the Magic hosting Oklahoma City Friday, and the Nuggets meet the TrailBlazers in the nightcap.
ABC only offers one game this weekend, with the Lakers heading to Oklahoma City at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
With Carmelo Anthony now on the squad, the Knicks host Miami Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The Hawks play Portland at 10:30 p.m.
The Wizards visit Miami Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast, and host Dallas Saturday on Comcast-plus.
For the hopeful stars of the future, Versus shows the D-League game between Bakersfield and Idaho Saturday at 11 p.m.
Comcast offers three women’s basketball games Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. when Virginia Tech hosts Virginia in the regular season finale. It’s off to the CAA at 3 p.m. when Delaware visits Old Dominion, then back to the ACC for North Carolina-Duke.
MASN goes to the Big East for women’s basketball Saturday at noon, with South Florida at Villanova.
ESPN2 shows Baylor taking on Oklahoma Sunday at 5 p.m.It’s a New York weekend for the Capitals, with the Rangers in town Friday on Comcast plus and a trip to play the Islanders Saturday on Comcast.
Weekend Watchdog: Hokies in primetime
Cassell Coliseum and its fans get to shine this weekend.
ESPN’s GameDay crew pays a visit to Cassell Coliseum Saturday, as the Hokies host Duke at 9 p.m.
The festivities begin in the morning with the two-hour preview show, and then get you ready for the game at 8 p.m.
The question remains – are the Hokies ready for primetime? They lost both matchups to Virginia, and fourth place in the ACC doesn’t guarantee anything – even with the field now 68 teams. Read more
Late rally pushes UVa. to ACC road win
A late 12-0 run gave Virginia the lead, and Mustapha Farrakhan helped seal the deal at the free-throw line as the ‘Hoos knocked off Georgia Tech in Atlanta 62-56 Wednesday night.
Virginia trailed 46-43 when Sammy Zeglinski hit a long three with 6:19 to go to tie the game. Another three by Farrakhan at the 4:08 mark made it 51-46 UVa., and the lead swelled to nine on a layup by Assane Sene off a nice dish by Jontel Evans with 2:22 to go. Read more
Dems use report to repeat criticisms of Cuccinelli
Virginia residents donated more than $2 million to U.S. Navy Vets, an organization under investigation in at least six states for defrauding donors, the Office of Consumer Affairs within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Forestry reported this week.
The organization was headed up by a man using the name Bobby Thompson who donated $55,000 to the political campaign of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Thompson disappeared after an Ohio grand jury indicted him on charges of corruption and theft.
Virginia Democrats used the news to bring up criticisms first lodged last year after initial reports surfaced about the alleged illicit activity on the part of Thompson. Cuccinelli refused for months to donate the contributions from U.S. Navy Vets to charity before finally giving in, and also made an apparently unrelated effort to move the Office of Consumer Affairs from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry under the purview of his office.
“No proof has surfaced that Cuccinelli wanted to move the office in order to shield Bobby Thompson and U.S. Navy Vets, but it is troubling that he called Thompson and asked him for donations, received $50,000 and then held a press conference three weeks later in support of a proposal that would have given him direct control over Thompson’s investigation in Virginia,” Democratic Party of Virginia spokesman Brian Coy said today.
“Given the questions surrounding his relationship to this organization, the best way to preserve the public trust would be for Ken Cuccinelli to appoint an independent prosecutor to pursue this criminal and bring him to justice. He should also welcome an independent audit of his office in order to give Virginia taxpayers full confidence that their attorney general did not engage in inappropriate behavior in this matter,” Coy said.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Groups criticize McDonnell on anti-union push
A coalition of Virginia groups are taking issue with Gov. Bob McDonnell’s support for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s push for legislation that would cripple public-sector employee unions in that state.
The coalition sent McDonnell a letter Wednesday morning expressing solidarity with those protesting in Wisconsin and highlighting that Gov. Walker is not to be commended for using his state’s budget struggles as an excuse to suppress workers’ rights.
While many of Walker’s supporters blame organized public-sector workers for the state’s budget woes, the groups signing the letter to Gov. McDonnell note that Virginia, a long time right-to-work state, has experienced the same budget problems as states with strong public sector unions like Wisconsin. The letter implored McDonnell to make pragmatic, not political, budget choices.
“The struggle of Egypt, and subsequent Middle Eastern states, has transcended borders and politics, garnering the support of all but few,” said Sandra Cook, chairperson of Virginia Organizing. “Now, the working people of Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio are raising their voices with the world watching, and we must show them the same support. We are embarrassed that our governor, Bob McDonnell, would support Governor Walker’s shameful actions and would oppose the hardworking nurses, firefighters and teachers that keep our nation going.”
“This is a political strategy and an attack on labor unions across the country. We are either going to work together and make history or the labor movement is going to be history. Are we going to settle and allow corporate lobbyists and big business to continue to make bad decisions, or are we going to take our country back?” said Chris Lance, president of CWA/National Coalition of Public Safety Officers Local 2201.
“We would describe those who are fighting for better wages and benefits, jobs security and safer work places as courageous and brave, not Governor Walker who is trying to deny workers their rights,” said Doris Crouse-Mays, president of the Virginia AFL-CIO.
“The same powerful corporate interests and their political allies who pressing to undermine workers’ rights are attempting to roll back environmental protections as well,” said Glen Besa, Virginia Director for the Sierra Club. “Unions built and protect a strong middle class in America, and it is the middle class that has the political clout to demand our water and air be protected.”
“Like other public education advocates around the country, we’re shocked by the extreme lengths that Governor Walker is going to in his effort to attack public employees and their families. Walker is using tough financial times as an excuse to attack public employees who have won the right to collectively bargain,” said Dr. Kitty Boitnott, VEA president. “Under his proposal, public school teachers and support staff would lose their ability to negotiate the critical aspects of their work lives. His plan would make it impossible for educators to have a voice in class size, curriculum, or school quality. Any attack on teachers’ working conditions is likely to have a negative effect on students as well.”
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Richmond pastes Coppin State, 9-3
Richmond scored four times in the first inning and senior RF Mike Mergenthaler homered twice in the game as the Spiders rolled past Coppin State, 9-3, Wednesday at Pitt Field.
The Spiders improved to 2-3 and remain home this weekend to host Bucknell in a three-game series at Pitt Field that begins Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Mergenthaler’s first home run of the season kick-started the offense as he ripped the game’s fifth pitch down the right-field and off the foul pole for a 1-0 advantage. The Spiders kept their foot on the gas as Ryan Mallory, Robby Massar and Phil Ruzbarsky all followed with RBI knocks in the first inning. Read more
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Chris Graham: No free lunch
Posted on February 24, 2011 · 1 Comment
i say this to those who have been expressing to me their increasing frustration over web ads. You hear it a lot on Facebook, which has a great business model working in terms of market penetration with the obvious issue being the ability to monetize in its current format, save for selling ads that can appear as unobtrusively as possible in feeds and on home pages.
One marketing client told me excitedly about an ad-blocking program he’d downloaded off the Internet that blocks everything – from ads on Facebook to ads on news websites (including AugustaFreePress.com).
To which I said, Great, as long as you recognize that you’re helping pave the road to an Internet in which the only thing that is available for free is that which is marketing-oriented.
Think about it. Content producers are already hemorrhaging monies under the current system, in which they give away everything for free in hopes of building good page ranks and unique-visitor counts that will attract advertisers to pay them money to access the numbers of eyeballs that they can offer.
If advertising doesn’t pay the bills, there’s only one other source of revenues for the content set – and that involves putting content behind paywalls.
Think cable TV, and you’re getting close. You want to read ESPN for your morning sports fix? That might cost you 99 cents one time, maybe $2.99 a month. Want your local news online? The price point might be lower, but you’re still going to pay.
The more that moves behind pay walls, the less there is out there that is available for free that’s worth more than what you’re paying for it.
Pretty much, you get your neighbor’s blog on politics or what his cat had for breakfast, or attempts by businesses small and large to get their message out to potential customers and clients.
Just as long as you realize you’ve been forewarned …
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with internet, marketing, media web content, paid content web, web marketing